1986 in sports

1986 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.

Alpine skiing

Alpine Skiing World Cup –
- Men's overall season champion: Marc Girardelli, Luxembourg
- Women's overall season champion: Maria Walliser, Switzerland

American football

Super Bowl XX – the Chicago Bears (NFC) won 46–10 over the New England Patriots (AFC)
- Location: Superdome
- Attendance: 73,818
- MVP: Richard Dent, DE (Chicago)
Linebacker Lawrence Taylor of the New York Giants wins the NFL Most Valuable Player Award
January 1 – Orange Bowl (1985 season):
- The Oklahoma Sooners won 25–10 over the Penn State Nittany Lions to win the national championship
Quarterback Vinny Testaverde of the Miami Hurricanes is awarded the Heisman Trophy

Association football

1986 FIFA World Cup – In the final, Argentina defeated West Germany 3–2 and won their second World Cup title. It was played for the second time in Mexico City, Azteca Stadium.
UEFA Champions League – Steaua București 0–0 F.C. Barcelona; Steaua București won 2–0 on penalties
UEFA Cup –Two legs; 1st leg Real Madrid C.F. 5–1 1. FC Köln; 2nd leg 1.FC Köln 2–0 Real Madrid CF. Real Madrid CF won 5–3 on aggregate
Cup Winners' Cup – Dinamo Kiev 3–0 Atlético Madrid
Super Cup – Steaua București 1–0 Dinamo Kiev
Copa Libertadores de América – Two legs; 1st leg América de Cali 1–2 River Plate; 2nd leg River Plate 1–0 América. River Plate won 3–1 on aggregate
November 6 – Alex Ferguson is appointed manager of Manchester United F.C.
Milk Cup Final held at Wembley Stadium – Oxford United 3–0 QPR
Intercontinental Cup – River Plate 1–0 Steaua București

Australian rules football

Victorian Football League
- Hawthorn wins the 90th VFL Premiership (Hawthorn 16.14 (110) d Carlton 9.14 (68))
- Brownlow Medal awarded to Greg Williams (Sydney Swans) and Robert DiPierdomenico (Hawthorn)
- The national draft is held for the first time.

Baseball

Major League Baseball
- American League defeats the National League 3–2 in the 1986 Major League Baseball All-Star Game played in Houston, Texas. Roger Clemens of the Boston Red Sox is named the game's Most Valuable Player.
- All-Star Game: American League Manager Dick Howser is diagnosed with brain cancer after mixing up signals during the game.
- Dave Righetti saves 46 games for the New York Yankees, breaking a record shared by Dan Quisenberry and Bruce Sutter.
- October 27 – World Series – The New York Mets win 4 games to 3 over the Boston Red Sox. The series is best remembered for Game 6, when the Red Sox were one out away from the Series victory but blew a 2-run lead with the bases empty and 2 outs in the bottom of the 10th inning; the game's final play was a groundball that rolled through the legs of first baseman Bill Buckner.
Jeff King of the University of Arkansas is the #1 overall pick in the 1986 MLB draft selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates
Arizona Wildcats defeat Florida State Seminoles 10–2 in College World Series

Basketball

NCAA Men's Basketball Championship –
- Louisville Cardinals wins 72–69 over Duke Blue Devils
- Duke Blue Devils Guard Johnny Dawkins is named Naismith College Player of the Year
NBA Finals
- June – Boston Celtics win 4 games to 2 over the Houston Rockets
Boston Celtics Forward Larry Bird is awarded NBA Most Valuable Player Award
National Basketball League (Australia) Finals:
- Adelaide 36ers defeated the Brisbane Bullets 2–1 in the best-of-three final series.
FIBA World Championship
- United States World Champion

Boxing

March 10 in Las Vegas, Nevada – Marvin Hagler retains the World Middleweight Championship with an 11th-round knockout of John Mugabi.
May 8 to 18 – Fourth World Amateur Boxing Championships are held in Reno, United States
November 22 – Mike Tyson knocks out Trevor Berbick in round 2 to become the youngest world heavyweight-boxing champion at 20 years and 4 months old

Canadian football

Grey Cup – Hamilton Tiger-Cats won 39–15 over the Edmonton Eskimos
Vanier Cup – UBC Thunderbirds won 25–23 over the Western Ontario Mustangs

Cricket

Sri Lanka defeats Pakistan to win the 1986 Asia Cup, the second edition of the Asia Cup.
Pakistan national cricket team defeats India in the final to win the 1986 Austral-Asia Cup, the inaugural edition of the Austral-Asia Cup.

Cycling

Giro d'Italia won by Roberto Visentini of Italy
Tour de France – Greg LeMond is the first winner from the United States
UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race – Moreno Argentin of Italy

Dogsled racing

Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion –
- Susan Butcher won with lead dogs: Granite & Mattie

Field hockey

Men's World Cup held in London won by Australia
Women's World Cup held in Amstelveen won by the Netherlands
Men's Champions Trophy held in Karachi won by West Germany

Figure skating

World Figure Skating Championships –
- Men's champion: Brian Boitano, United States
- Ladies' champion: Debi Thomas, United States
- Pair skating champions: Ekaterina Gordeeva / Sergei Grinkov, Soviet Union
- Ice dancing champions: Natalia Bestemianova / Andrei Bukin, Soviet Union

Gaelic Athletic Association

Camogie
- All-Ireland Camogie Champion: Kilkenny
- National Camogie League: Cork
Gaelic football
- All-Ireland Senior Football Championship – Kerry 2–15 died Tyrone 1–10
- National Football League – Laois 2–6 died Monaghan 2–5
Ladies' Gaelic football
- All-Ireland Senior Football Champion: Kerry
- National Football League: Wexford
Hurling
- All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship – Cork 4–13 died Galway 2–15
- National Hurling League – Kilkenny 2–10 beat Galway 2–6

General

17 October – The IOC votes that the 1992 Olympic Summer Games will be held in Barcelona, Spain.^[1]

Golf

Men's professional

Masters Tournament – Jack Nicklaus becomes the oldest Masters winner (age 46), and wins his last major golf championship (excluding the Senior PGA Tour).
U.S. Open – Raymond Floyd
British Open – Greg Norman
PGA Championship – Bob Tway
PGA Tour money leader – Greg Norman – $653,296
Senior PGA Tour money leader – Bruce Crampton – $454,299

Men's amateur

Women's professional

Nabisco Dinah Shore – Pat Bradley
LPGA Championship – Pat Bradley
U.S. Women's Open – Jane Geddes
Classique du Maurier Classic – Pat Bradley
LPGA Tour money leader – Pat Bradley – $492,021

Harness racing

North America Cup – Quite A Sensation
United States Pacing Triple Crown races –
1. Cane Pace – Barberry Spur
2. Little Brown Jug – Barberry Spur
3. Messenger Stakes – Amity Chef
United States Trotting Triple Crown races –
1. Hambletonian – Nuclear Kosmos
2. Yonkers Trot – Gunslinger Spur
3. Kentucky Futurity – Sugarcane Hanover
Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship –
- Pacers: Village Kid

Horse racing

Steeplechases

Cheltenham Gold Cup – Dawn Run
Grand National – West Tip

Flat races

Australia – Melbourne Cup won by At Talaq
Canada – Queen's Plate won by Golden Choice
France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe won by Dancing Brave
Ireland – Irish Derby Stakes won by Shahrastani
Japan – Japan Cup won by Jupiter Island
English Triple Crown Races:
1. 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Dancing Brave
2. The Derby – Shahrastani^[2]
3. St. Leger Stakes – Moon Madness
United States Triple Crown Races:
1. Kentucky Derby – Ferdinand
2. Preakness Stakes – Snow Chief
3. Belmont Stakes – Danzig Connection
Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships:
1. Breeders' Cup Classic – Skywalker
2. Breeders' Cup Distaff – Lady's Secret
3. Breeders' Cup Juvenile – Capote
4. Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies – Brave Raj
5. Breeders' Cup Mile – Last Tycoon
6. Breeders' Cup Sprint – Smile
7. Breeders' Cup Turf – Manila

Ice hockey

Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
Hart Memorial Trophy for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers
Stanley Cup – Montreal Canadiens won 4 games to 1 over the Calgary Flames
World Hockey Championship –
- Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Sweden
- Junior Men's champion: Soviet Union defeated Canada

Lacrosse

The 5th World Lacrosse Championship is held in Toronto. The United States win, and Canada is the runner-up.
The first Japanese lacrosse team is formed at Keio University.
The Major Indoor Lacrosse League (MILL) is formed as the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League.
The New Westminster Salmonbellies win the Mann Cup.
Mississauga wins the Founders Cup.
The Peterborough Maulers win the Minto Cup.

Motorsport

Radiosport

Third Amateur Radio Direction Finding World Championship held in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia.

Rugby league

Rugby union

92nd Five Nations Championship series is shared by France and Scotland

Snooker

World Snooker Championship – Joe Johnson beats Steve Davis 18–12
World rankings – Steve Davis remains world number one for 1986/87

Swimming

The fifth FINA World Championships held in Madrid, Spain
June 26 – Matt Biondi clocks 22.33 to take the world record from fellow American Tom Jager (22.40) in the 50m freestyle (long course)

Tennis

Grand Slam in tennis men's results:
1. Australian Open – no tournament held
2. French Open – Ivan Lendl
3. Wimbledon championships – Boris Becker
4. U.S. Open – Ivan Lendl
Grand Slam in tennis women's results:
1. Australian Open – no tournament held
2. French Open – Chris Evert
3. Wimbledon championships – Martina Navratilova
4. U.S. Open – Martina Navratilova
Davis Cup – Australia won 3–2 over Sweden in world tennis.

Volleyball

Men's World Championship held in Paris won by USA
Women's World Championship held in Prague won by China

Water polo

Men's World Championship held in Madrid won by Yugoslavia
Women's World Championship held in Madrid won by Australia

Multi-sport events

Asian Games held in Seoul, South Korea
Winter Asian Games held in Sapporo, Japan
Central American and Caribbean Games held in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic
Commonwealth Games held in Edinburgh, Scotland^[3]
Summer Goodwill Games held in Moscow, Soviet Union

Awards

ABC Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year – Debi Thomas, Figure Skating
Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year – Larry Bird, NBA Finals NBA basketball
Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year – Martina Navratilova, Tennis
Joe Paterno is named Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year

References

^ Judith Miller (18 October 1992). "Barcelona Gets 1992 Summer Olympics". New York Times. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
^ "Epsom Derby | History, Winners, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
^ "Our Games | Commonwealth Games Federation". thecgf.com. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.

[1] Judith Miller (18 October 1992). "Barcelona Gets 1992 Summer Olympics". New York Times. Retrieved 15 January 2017.

[2] "Epsom Derby | History, Winners, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 4 January 2022.

[3] "Our Games | Commonwealth Games Federation". thecgf.com. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.

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